Why Tag and Bink Were Cut from Solo

From the outset, Solo was always meant to usher in a number of classic Star Wars characters from the Legends canon, making them part of the official Disney era canon. But sadly, two of those characters just didn't make the cut. Even though director Ron Howard teased their presence early on, Tag and Bink were nowhere to be seen when the movie hit theater screens this past weekend. So what happened to these two fan-favorite Imperial screw-ups?

As it stands, Solo still contains some pretty wild Star Wars Easter eggs, cameos and references, including some very deep cuts that a lot of fans didn't even catch. But Ron Howard had championed the arrival of Tag and Bink midway through production, two expanded universe characters he gleefully showed off on Twitter. They originally appeared in the classic Star Wars comics, with the duo often finding themselves in the wrong place at the right time. Solo co-writer Jonathan Kasdan played one of the two Imperial officers. But he has now revealed that his big scene was deemed unnecessary when it came time to lock the final print of the film.

That said, the Tag and Bink scene was literally one of the last to go. So, where were they supposed to show up? In the opening moments of Solo, we get to see Han on his home planet of Corellia, where he is planning an escape with his girlfriend Qi'ra. Those plans get squashed, and Han ultimately decides to join the Imperial Navy in a last ditch effort to keep from being captured. He wants to be a pilot. But ultimately, he becomes an infantry grunt. Between his enrollment and his time on the battlefield, there was actually a scene that showed what happened to Han as he tried to fly for the Empire.

This quick moment lasted nearly 80 seconds, and showed Han becoming an Imperial pilot. But he disobeys a direct order, and he gets kicked out. There was a moment cut from the film that shows Han standing before an official hearing as he is dumped from the pilot academy. He would have been escorted out of the courtroom by Tag and Bink, played by Jon Kasdan and assistant director Toby Hefferman.

Tag and Bink were originally created by Kevin Rubio and showed up in a few different limited edition runs of various Star Wars comics. They were seen on a number of different adventures during both the original and prequel trilogy timelines. And they very often crossed paths with the main events and characters seen in the movies. Their brief scene in Solo was always in the script, from the very first draft. And Ron Howard showed off Jon Kasdan and Toby Hefferman in costume, indicating that this entire scene had been shot.

ComicBook.com revealed what happened to the Tag and Bink cameo. It's believed that this scene may be included in the upcoming Blu-ray release as one of the deleted scenes.